1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to products and methods for the production of lily plants specifically Lilium elegans Thunb., from bulbils produced in leaf axils and Lilium longiflorum Thunb., lilies produced from seedlings or bulblets derived from tissue culture or leaf cuttings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional forcing of the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) requires treating the lily bulb for 42 days at 40.degree.-45.degree. F. to accelerate flowering, however, this conventional bulb cold treatment has the disadvantage of reducing the number of flower buds (Roh and Wilkins, Thesis Collection, Vol. 10, 1976, pp. 295-305, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Korea).
To increase the number of flower buds without delaying flowering time, 3 weeks of cold treatment at 40.degree.-45.degree. F. was followed by 1 to 3 weeks of 60.degree. F. treatment period. This was again followed by an additional 3 weeks of cold treatment to give a total of 6 weeks of cold treatment (Roh and Wilkins, J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., Vol. 102, 1977, pp. 235-242).
L. lancifolium required forcing of a sequential low temperature (45.degree. F.) treatment for 20 days followed by high temperature (81.degree. F.) for 7 days, and finally followed by low temperature for 20 days given to 330-430 mg bulbils produced 22 percent flowering plants in less than 7 months from bulbil harvest (Roh, S. M., J. Kor. Soc. Hort. Sci., Vol. 22, 1981, pp. 199-208).
Ultimately, bulb production can take up to two years. During this bulb production phase, there is a serious risk of disease and insect infestation that subsequently lowers bulb and plant quality. Currently, lily viruses pose a major threat to the production of a high quality crop.